Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s ratings spike was short-lived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Disney briefly suspended ABC\u2019s \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!<\/a>\u201d after the host\u2019s remarks about the alleged assassin of\u00a0Charlie Kirk\u00a0<\/a>sparked widespread backlash. After an about-face from Disney, the liberal comedian returned last Tuesday, and Kimmel\u2019s emotional return drew a massive audience, but viewers haven\u2019t stuck around.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Thursday, \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d averaged 2.3 million total viewers \u2014 a staggering 64% drop from the 6.5 million who tuned in for Tuesday\u2019s much-hyped return.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kimmel shed <\/a>even more viewers in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54, with Thursday\u2019s episode hemorrhaging 73% of viewers from the critical category.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d pulled in 1.7 million viewers among the key demo for Tuesday\u2019s return but plummeted to 465,000 only 48 hours later.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live!\u201d also lost significant viewers in the younger demographic of adults aged 18-49, managing 1.2 million on Tuesday but quickly losing 73% to settle for only 334,000 on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s ratings spike was short-lived after his suspension over Charlie Kirk comments.\u00a0 Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/p>\n The saga began earlier this month when Kimmel falsely suggested that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect in the Kirk assassination, was\u00a0part of the \u201cMAGA gang<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0despite reports he had a left-wing ideology, which was reaffirmed in the indictment filed the next day.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,\u201d Kimmel told his audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n The false suggestion that Robinson was a MAGA supporter sparked outrage and scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Disney decided to suspend the show after Nexstar<\/a> and Sinclair pulled airings of Kimmel from their stations, and Kimmel reportedly had told executives last week he would not apologize for his comments.<\/p>\n Jimmy Kimmel in a blue \u201cBrooklyn\u201d jacket with Guillermo before his week of shows in NYC this week. Steve Sands\/ New York Newswire \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n People line up near a Jimmy Kimmel banner at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Gregory P. Mango<\/p>\n Kimmel returned last Tuesday with a\u00a0passionate monologue\u00a0but stopped short of a full apology. Steve Sands\/ New York Newswire \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n